Our Mid Norfolk Market Towns are vital hubs of community spirit and services. After a difficult few years, it’s more vital than ever that we do all we can to help fuel their success and prosperity – and shape positive futures for them – so as to ensure they remain thriving and vibrant.

We need our market towns to be places where people want to live, visit, work and grow businesses.

That’s why, having agreed at the ‘A Dereham Plan for Dereham Residents’ event in November to help stakeholders establish a local Partnership that could work with local Councils and drive forward positive initiatives in the town (see more here), I was delighted to chair the first meeting of that new group this past Friday.

With members from across a wide variety of public and private sector fields (including local businesses, the Town Council, Breckland Council, Norfolk County Council, the aboutDereham Partnership and Revd Paul Cubitt at St Nicholas’ Church – among others), we had some promising early discussions – particularly around the future of the High Street and the centre of the town – and are now following up on a variety of actions as the group decides what its main focusses should be and how it might be able to deliver tangible progress.

Rest assured, I look forward to working with the group over the coming months to make sure this cross-party effort takes off – and hope to be able to share further progress updates soon.

To stay up to date with updates on this work, please do regularly check my campaign page here.